The Present
by LumbarRouge8
Summary: Steven s birthday is just around the corner and while everyone else knows what present they will give to Steven, Pearl struggles with it
1. The Challenge

**A/N: Hey guys, First of all let me thank you for the little but important support you all have given me, as you can see I am still in the process of writing Rose`s Letters, but recently I`ve noticed that my writing on that story has turned out pretty weak so I am taking a short break from that. Hope you all enjoy this new story.**

"Alright! Final boss!" Steven placed his eyes on the T.V. he had been playing the brand new videogame, inspired by the book series of "Unfamiliar familiar", for the past 48 hours straight because Connie had challenged him for a competition to see who would finish the game first.

"Now I just have to use the shining arrow and this dude will give me the key to save princess Apple!" Steven was determined to win this challenge, after all, the wager was that the one who finished second would have to buy the ice cream they planned to get this weekend.

"YES" Steven shouted as hard as he could, at last, all of the frustration the game caused him was gone in a poof. Steven rushed to the phone to call Connie, so he could tell her he had just finished the game, but just as he reached it, the phone began to ring and indicated it was Connie; Steven felt a nod in his stomach and hesitated to decide if he would pick up the phone or not.

Finally he gave up, he picked up the phone and put it in his ear. "HA" A girly voice could be heard "I beat you didn`t I?" Steven opened his mouth to protest but was immediately silenced as Connie continued to talk.

"I have been awake, playing none stop, the whole weekend! And I know it is a little bit extreme but I really wanted to win this challenge!" Connie waited for a response from Steven but heard nothing.

Steven, astonished, tried to figure out what just happened, he was so tired and sleepy he could barely open his eyes, and Connie`s screams weren`t helping at all. "Hello?" Connie tried to reach Steven once more, this time in a calmer tone, "AH! Connie! I was literally about to call you!" Connie gave a small laugh and said "That is why you must have the phone right next to you! You never know when you`re going to need it!"

As Steven and Connie carried on with their little chat, the door that could lead to different parts of the temple opened up. Pearl came out of it and screamed at the horrifying scenario that developed right in front of her.

Potato chips` bags all over the floor, Steven`s bed was upside down, and the seagull was able to return at Steven`s room. "STEVEN!" Pearl cried at the little boy across the room.

The little boy jumped in surprise to see Pearl standing behind him, he saw her expression of frustration and decided it was best for him to hang up and give his attention to Pearl.

"Connie, I`ll call you back..." Steven`s voice cracked in fear, he hanged up the phone and directed to Pearl. "Heyyy Peaaarl..."

"WHAT IS THIS STEVEN? Your whole room is a mess!" Pearl screamed in exasperation, not noticing the bags that formed around Steven`s eyes. "I told you to clean this room up 24 hours ago!"

Steven looked at Pearl`s finger, then looking at the dump that he once called a room. It was the first time Steven contemplated the terrible conditions he was living in.

"And look at you! You are a mess as well! When was the last time you took a shower?" Steven stopped to think for a second and asked Pearl "Does Lion`s licks count?" Immediately Pearl locked a horrified look on Steven signalling him that was a negative.

Blocking her nose of the horrible scent coming from Steven, Pearl took Steven to his bathroom and locked him n "You are not getting out of here until you are shining clean mister!"

Steven tried to convince Pearl of letting him out but the door wouldn`t budge. Connie would have to wait.


	2. The mission

Pearl looked at the clock, it has been 2 hours since she locked Steven in the bathroom, and all that time she cleaned up Steven`s room. She had to deal with the mess Steven left behind, all of the trash filled up two of the big garbage bags, and the bed was not a problem except for the mouse that lived in Steven`s cushion, what really caused her trouble was the seagull.

After she finished with the room she decided it was time to check on Steven. She knocked on the door and called for the little boy "Steven? Are you done?"

The small child responded with a confident voice "Yeah… but I think the toilet clogged again!" Pearl took her palm to her face, everywhere Steven went he left a little bit of disaster, and even though Pearl enjoyed helping Steven, she wanted him to be responsible for his own actions.

"Oh.. never mind" Steven responded. Pearl sighted in relief, but then a doubt came to her mind. "Then what happened?" Steven opened the door and rubbed his eyes "I think I am seeing a little bit blurry"

Steven was finally clean and had a smell to, ironically enough, roses. The bathroom was completely dirty; all of the sweat and dirt that came from Steven took its toll on the shower.

Pearl ignored it and continued to talk to Steven "Look Steven, I don`t have anything against this little game you are doing but you must look after yourself." Steven nodded in agreement and responded "Yes, I know, it's just that… I really wanted to win this competition." Pearl got in her knees so she could see Steven a little bit closer.

"It`s ok Steven, now tell me, you said your vision was blurry?" It was then that Pearl noticed the bags that surrounded Steven`s eyes; she felt a little bit guilty for screaming at Steven earlier.

Pearl placed her hand in Steven`s shoulder and told him "You better get ready, we are going in a mission in 10 minutes" The little boy`s eyes shined with glee and then he ran upstairs.

Pearl headed to the door and entered her room, she always enjoyed her room, the huge waterfalls and the sound of them always relaxed Pearl, she especially went in her room after having a fight with Amethyst or after she went on a mission.

With a single jump she got to the tallest of the water towers in her room, she started meditating. She thought about Rose, and the letter she received from her, and then in a blink of an eye she felt like it was time to head out.

The tall white gem headed to the door and noticed her whole team preparing to go out.

Garnet was already ready to go, she never took anything non-important with her, she knew that it could get in her way, Amethyst prepared her favorite sandwich: bacon, ham and chips covered in car oil, and Steven packed several things in his cheeseburger backpack.

"I am ready Garnet" Pearl informed the red gem. Garnet and Amethyst looked at each other with a confused glare and then looked back at Pearl "What are you talking about?" Amethyst asked.

Pearl looked at the two gems in confusion and said "We are going on a mission…Right?" Garnet took her hand to the side of her face in signal of frustration and Amethyst said to the red gem "I told you she would forget".

Pearl felt offended at that statement, after all, she had an impeccable memory but for some reason she couldn`t recall the memory of that she had to remember. "You are not coming with us" Garnet said in her normal voice tone.

"But why? Is it something Amethyst told you?" Pearl turned in anger to the purple short gem. "Hey I didn`t do anything! This time it was you!" Amethyst protested at Pearl`s accusation while walking to the warp pad.

Pearl looked at Garnet asking for the reason of this discussion "Two days ago we agreed that Amethyst and I were going to take Steven on a fake mission so you could get a birthday present for Steven"

And then Pearl remembered, she felt slightly embarrassed and a little bit guilty, because even though Garnet spoke with her normal tone, Pearl could sense a little bit of disappointment on Garnet`s voice.

Pearl was not looking forward to this event, not only because she did not know what kind of present she must get for Steven, but also because the horrifying memory of old Steven in his birthday suit brought tears to her eyes.

"Steven`s birthday is tomorrow, there is no time to buy him a present" Pearl tried to escape from this quest fearing that she would get the wrong present for Steven, causing him to be disappointed in his big day.

"We will give you at least 5 hours to get that present" Garnet said to Pearl in a whispery voice fearing Steven would hear them talk. "But what about you? Did you get him a present?" Garnet turned around and showed pearl both of her gems "Oh… and what about you Amethyst?" Pearl directed to the messy gem. "Me? I got him a new controller for his game square thingy for him and myself."

This did not cleared things up for Pearl and just when she was going to say several options for the present Steven got close to the gems "I`m ready Garnet!" Pearl looked with worry at Steven "Good luck with finding that shoe!" Steven gave Pearl a hug and then directed to the warp pad.

Pearl looked at Amethyst, she shrugged with a grin in her face disappearing in the beam of light.

Pearl looked at the clock once again. "It's 10 A.M. I think if I`m going to look for a present I`d better start now!"

 **A/N- What? Two episodes in the same day? Well I`m inspired and I must thank the wonderful review from : "Guest" and well… I hope you enjoyed this long chapter! Yours truly –LumbarRouge8.**


	3. Surprise! Part 1

Pearl looked carefully at Steven`s bedroom; she was trying to find something meaningful to the little boy so she could have an idea for the present. She saw toys, photos, posters, and his videogames.

The gem struggled with her thoughts about this ritual, she knew that Steven was very enthusiastic with birthdays, she even remembered what the chubby boy prepared for Greg`s birthday.

- _It was a slow day at the carwash and Greg Universe was closing up for the day, he was looking forward to the evening because he made a deal with his son so they could spend the night together, since it was Greg`s birthday, he only wished to be with his son._

 _He locked the door and kept the keys in his pocket; he headed to his van and took off his jacket. "Man I wish I had chosen a better business". He enjoyed working there, and when Steven was able to visit his father they would have a fun water fight, but it was days like these that Greg got bored out of his mind._

" _At least I`m going to spend the rest of the day with my beloved son." He looked around and chuckled. "Heh… I think I`ve been so lonely that I`m starting to talk to myself…"_

 _Then a loud growl startled the man, he turned around and to his surprise there was Lion. Greg thought to himself "Lion? What is he doing here?" Nervously, he petted the big feline`s head and asked "What are you doing here big boy?" The pink cat growled again; Greg thought that this kind of stuff only happens when Steven is in trouble._

" _Where is Steven?" And as the long haired man finished his question a young boy jumped out of Lion`s mane and shouted "SURPRISE!" The scream was so loud, even Lion gave a small jump._

 _Greg cried in confusion and fell on his backside "Steven!?" Greg placed his hand in his chest area. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" Steven`s facial expression changed from happiness to worry; he got in his knees and helped Greg on his feet._

" _I`m sorry dad.. I thought it would be funny." The two men got in their feet and embraced in a tight hug. "Are you ready for your special day dad?" Greg nodded._

 _They walked towards the van and Greg tried to start a little talk with his son. "How can you fit in Lion`s mane? I mean it`s hair is long but this is ridiculous!" Steven laughed and turned to his father. "Well… its not only it`s hair… he kind of has this huge place inside him with a tree and other stuff!" Greg looked back at the Pink animal and said "Like my storage?"_

" _Yes, even I keep my stuff in here!" He extended his arms and inserted them in Lion`s mane, took out a couple of sodas and offered one to his dad. "Oh. Thanks kiddo" The Universes opened the cans of soda and took a small slurp._

" _Anyway… what do you want to do today kid?" Steven stopped drinking from his soda, chuckled and said "Its your birthday dad, lets do whatever you want to do."_

" _Well-" Greg tried to respond but as soon as he opened his mouth, Lion growled and walked towards a bush._

" _Lion! No!" Steven cried, but the feline ignored him. "I`m sorry dad, but I must go check on him so he won`t put anything disgusting… or alive…. in his mouth." Greg nodded and helped Steven get off the van`s roof._

 _As Steven walked towards the bush, Greg hoped that nothing would get between his son and him and he sure hoped Lion didn`t get in between their special night._

 _Steven struggled as he crossed the bushes. Out of the darkness appeared a tall white woman with a blue dress and something like a ball on her forehead "Pearl!" Steven whispered._

" _Is it time Steven?" Pearl looked down at Steven; the young boy shushed her and said "Try to keep your voice down would you? Now… do you have clear what will you do?" The gem nodded and responded to Steven "I wait for your signal, I come out, I tell you -You must come on a mission- and we leave so your dad can begin with his little quest"_

 _Steven gave a thumbs up and whispered "Yes, and my signal will be –Lion is hungry- okay?" Pearl nodded once more and as Steven gave a sound of approval, the gem grabbed his hand "Steven are you sure this is a good idea? And why must I wait in this…. filthy place?" Pearl looked around her and saw several insects, containers full of garbage and a couple of rats._

" _Because! Its my dad`s birthday and everything must be perfect… and I know you don`t like birthdays.. but us humans do! And I`m only asking you this once, I promise." Pearl released the wrist of the boy dressed in pink and returned to the shadows._

" _Steven?" Greg called for his son, it has been too long since Steven entered the bushes and he was getting worried. "Are you okay?" he called once more "Yes I`m fine!" Steven shouted back to his father and came out of the bushes with Lion by his side._

 _Greg gave a sigh in relief and scratched the back of his head "What were you doing in there? I was getting a little bit worried." Steven scratched Lion`s mane and said back to his father "I had to get several stuff out of Lion`s mouth because he tried to eat potato chips` bags and also he tried to eat a bird."_

 _The elder man saw with a little bit of disgust at Steven`s big pet and heard the little boy said "Bad Lion!" Greg chuckled and said "Ha! Give him a break kiddo! When was the last time you fed him?" Steven looked at Lion. "Not long ago.. but I bet LION IS HUNGRY" Steven had practically shouted the last sentence, confusing his father and queuing Pearl`s entrance._

 _With a powerful jump Pearl landed right in front of Steven and his father, she cleared her throat and said in a nervous tone "Steven.. we need you uhm… we need your help with.. the giant… magic bees?" Pearl somehow knew this would happen, after all, she was a terrible liar and she didn`t enjoy doing it._

" _Oh right! I totally had forgotten about the giant.." Steven looked back at Pearl. "… Bees?" Peal shrugged and blushed, she was afraid Greg wouldn`t fall for it._

 _Steven looked back at the long haired man, now with a sad expression in his face, and tried to explain "I`m sorry dad… this must be really important!" Pearl picked up the little boy with one arm and jumped so high Greg lost them in the black sky._

 _Greg was speechless, he was hoping for his son and him to be together, but that hope vanished with the single apparition of Pearl, he looked at the sky for a couple of minutes and sat down in the inside of his van, he had a tear on his cheek._

"… _but what about our deal?..."_


	4. Surprise! Part 2

_Steven found himself flying in the beautiful night sky. He knew that his dad was heartbroken, but in just about an hour he would be the happiest man in Beach city._

 _The boy looked at Pearl and told her "Okay Pearl, I think he doesn`t see us." Pearl heard the young gem and let herself fall to the ground "Okay.. Thanks a lol!" Pearl received a hug from Steven, but for some reason something bothered her._

" _Steven?" "Yes?" "Why are you doing this?" Steven looked back with a confused look and said "What do you mean?" Pearl sat down in the brand new bench Mayor Dewey inaugurated and indicated the boy to sit down as well._

" _What I mean is: Why bother making this kind of ritual if you know that person will pass away?" Steven looked at the sea, trying to process what the gem just said. "We all know Death is inevitable Pearl… We all know that we could die in twenty years or we could die tomorrow…"_

 _Pearl looked with all her attention to the little boy, strapped her arm around his back and continued to listen "But that is why we celebrate birthdays… to celebrate we were able to be another year with our loved ones."_

 _Pearl looked at the sea alongside Steven, she never thought about it that way "Now that you put it like that…" said Pearl "…. I guess it would have been nice to have had celebrations like this with your mother when we had the chance…"_

 _Steven placed his eyes in the ground, and then in Pearl as she is still contemplated the sea. "You know why we love our rooms Steven?" Pearl began a different type of conversation._

" _Each and every one of us has our own room, with characteristics we love, for example, I love my room because the waterfalls are smooth and perfect, the sound they make never changes and the smell of the salt water is so relaxing…" Pearl imagined her room and felt relaxed "… and each one of those characteristics define us… who we are and how we are.."_

 _Steven couldn`t understand why Pearl changed the topic so soon, but he knew each conversation he had with her had an important lesson or purpose. "Garnet likes her room because at first there is nothing but rock, but as you get deeper, the room gets warmer…"_

 _Steven immediately identified Garnet`s room with the gem, at first, she didn`t talk much but as time went by and Steven got to know her better he realized inside that strong gem was a soft hearted one with nothing but love to give._

 _Pearl showed a little smile and said ".. And don`t get me started on Amethyst! She doesn`t keep her room like that only because she is so… messy… but also because she loves to see my frustration each time I entered her room…"_

 _They both laughed for a second and resumed their silence, with nothing but the waves of the sea to be heard "… but your mother…" Pearl continued with a softer tone. "Everything your mother ever did was care about others, so her room was designed not for her… but FOR others... she created that room for her family and friends, recreating our dreams and making us happy, and that made HER happy, and that made the room happy…"_

 _Steven imagined her mom before he was born, how she always helped the people in Beach city, and how Amethyst told him about the time she was invited by Rose to her room._

 _He had never been prouder of Rose Quartz._

" _And now.." Pearl continued. "I look at you and how you care for all these people and you know what I see?" Pearl looked at Steven with a sweet smile and a tear of joy on her cheek._

" _What?" Asked the little boy, anxious to hear the answer. "I see Rose"_

 _Pearl always had the hope that one day Rose would come back to them, but as she embraced Steven in a tight hug, she realized that if Rose didn`t come back Pearl knew that the spirit of her leader would forever live inside the little boy`s heart._

 _The two beings stayed like that for about five minutes. And when Steven looked at his watch he said "Om my gosh! I have to get ready for the party!" He felt something heavy touch the top of his head and heard a certain someone growl._

" _Oh! Lion! You are just in time!" Lion let the boy climb on its back and grab his mane. "Come on Lion!" The big feline heard the urgency of the little boy and opened a portal, but just before he jumped into the shining door, he turned around and gave Pearl a small lick in the cheek._

" _Aww! He likes you!" Steven said laughing and then he disappeared in the portal._

 _Pearl cleaned her face and wondered –Why did Lion did that? - The gem had all the reasons to not be licked by Lion in such a way, she always screamed at him and when Steven wasn`t home she usually got Lion out of the house._

 _She looked at the stars one more time and headed to the temple, after all, Greg`s quest could not begin without her!_


	5. The visitors

Pearl heard the clock ticking, she has been lost on her memories for the past half our, and she snapped out of her memory just to see the clock had advanced to indicate it was 10:33.

"Oh!" Pearl gasped in surprise, she already wasted half an hour on her thoughts, not thinking in her assignment.

"That memory… is so valuable." She looked up at the portrait of Rose Quartz that was above the door and said "I can feel you… every time I`m around him…" Pearl opened the door and left the house.

She gazed at the beautiful scenario that stood right in front of her, every time the sun touched the sand in the beach, it would reflect the light as if the beach was full of little crystals, and the water was so clear and blue, she could see everything below the sea from the house.

The sun was almost at its top spot and the whole sky was a bright blue, Pearl sighed at the view and stretched her arms, and when she started walking downstairs she heard laughter that came from the other side of the temple where the fence used to be.

She could see three teenagers walking towards the house, even though she did not know her names, she could recognize them from that time Steven found Peridot`s ship.

The three teenagers saw the gem and pointed at her "Look!" said the girl. Pearl recognized her voice; she was one of the daughters of the owner of the pizza business but could not remember her name.

"Oh! Its one of Steven`s moms!" Pearl blushed at the thought of people thinking the gems where Steven`s moms, because even though the gems looked after Steven most of the time, they only considered themselves as guardians.

"Oh! Hi!" Pearl replied and jumped towards the visitors landing right in front of them. "Wow!" "Cool!" "Impressive!" the three teenagers said at the same time, they had never seen such jump that close.

"How may I help you?" Pearl said to the visitors and asked for their names.

"My friends call me Sourcream." "Buck Dewey" "I`m Jenny, I`ve been here before remember?"

The gem nodded and asked again "I´m sorry, but why are you here?" The three beings that stood in front of her looked at each other "We are looking for Steven" Said the man with the shades.

"Oh I`m sorry but Steven went out on a mission and won`t be here until late."

"Aww" "bummer" "too bad!". They all said in disappointment and thanked Pearl.

Pearl said goodbye, but then, an idea came to her head "Hey wait!" The gem cried to the teenagers, ran to them and declared "I need your help…" The three guys looked at her confused and asked "What do you need?" "Its Steven´s birthday tomorrow and I don`t know what kind of gift I must give to him."

"Is it Steven´s birthday tomorrow?" "Is he throwing a party?" "Should I bring my own ice?" Once again they all talked at the same time, and Pearl was starting to think that, somehow, they might be synchronized.

"Yes, Steven`s birthday is tomorrow, No, we are not having a big Party, we are just having a family dinner at 8 P.M. and there is no need for solid H2O." Pearl tried to say patiently, she felt like her time was running out with them.

"So can you give me some suggestions for his gift?" Pearl insisted once more. "Wait, how come you don´t know what kind of gift should be given to Steven? Aren`t you like his mom or something?"

Pearl blushed once more, but this time it wasn´t because they said the gem was his mother, she blushed because Jenny was right, Pearl has been living with the little boy for the past decade and could not figure out what the boy would like for his present.

"Well…" The white gem tried to explain but could not give an excuse.

"It`s ok Ms. Gem we can give you some ideas!" Sourcream said with a determined look on his face "You could give-" The light skinned boy was interrupted by Buck when he asked Jenny "Wait… you said you were here before?" "Oh yeah! It was when the afro lady crashed into my dad`s business roof and he was so mad! HA HA!"

Pearl had lost her patience, if she was going to get a gift before her team returned from the "Mission" she had to ask the good people of beach city for help, but this trio wasn`t going to help her. "Well, thank you anyway…" Pearl bid farewell and ran towards the city.

Sourcream saw this and told his friends "I think she got tired of us…" The other teens turned around and saw the white gem run towards Fryman`s fries. "So I guess we should come at 8 tomorrow night huh?" Jenny turned to her friends and smiled at them.

"Didn`t you hear?" Sourcream protested "We can`t come, its family and saviors of the Earth only!" "Yeah man…" Buck added "But we are Steven`s friends! We can`t let him be on his birthday all by himself! Besides, we were the ones that got him ungrounded, he owes it to us." Buck said with his cool voice tone.

"Then its settled!" Jenny cried in determination "We are turning this party upside down!"

 **A/N: Oh jeez… guess there is not stopping the cool kids! I only wanted to thank you guys for the constant support you all have given me! And I`m going to finish the "Surprise!" Special (Pearls memory) a little bit later on the story so don`t feel like I skipped a chapter! –LumbarRouge8**


	6. Fryman s fries

"The clock is ticking Pearl." The gem thought to herself. "You can still do this, you just need to find someone close to Steven." She was running towards one of the small businesses in Beach City "Fryman`s Fries huh?" Pearl knew that place, she went there often with Steven to order what he called "Fry bits".

Pearl got near the counter and patiently waited for the small child standing in front of her to take his order and be on his way, he was one or two feet smaller than Steven and had his skin as white as the moon.

"Oh! Hi Onion!" The man standing behind the counter greeted the kid and asked "What can I get you?" Onion pointed at the menu but didn`t say nothing. "Heh..The usual huh?"

Pearl raised her eyebrow in sign of confusion, but she didn`t give it a lot of attention, Onion received a bag of fries Fryman took from the fryer and turned around to find the Gem that was waiting.

He stood there in silence, making direct eye contact with the gem, not moving or making a sound while holding the bag he just received, the two of them stood there looking at each other "Uh.. Hello?" Pearl said trying to get a response from the boy who was making her uncomfortable.

There was something weird about Onion, but Pearl couldn`t figure out what, then she felt fear, a feeling she did not experience since Rose left her, she felt trapped in an aura of darkness with no escape where the only two beings standing there where Pearl and Onion.

Onion opened the bag and stood aside of the counter where the Fry man was waiting, Pearl saw with absolute and pure terror to the little entity standing there, she advanced and asked the man "Did you see that?!" Pearl said with an alarmed tone. "See what?" Fryman looked on the other side of the window and saw Onion once more.

"Oh… yeah, he does that sometimes." The bearded man said calmly. "Does what?" Pearl insisted once more for an answer. "Stare into our souls." This statement made Pearl swallow fear and try to avoid eye contact with the child.

"Why does he do that? Is he some sort of unnatural entity?" Pearl placed her hand next to her mouth so Onion could not read her lips. "Nobody really knows, but we gave up our investigations after he spent a day with Mayor Dewey."

"Anyway, I`m here to ask for help." The fry man looked at the gem and called for his two sons "RONALDO! PEEDEE! COME HERE!" The two sons came running and stood in a military-like pose. "Yes Sir!?" They said simultaneously and saw the white woman.

"Don`t worry ma'am, whatever you need help with, the Frymans will help! As a family!" Pearl was quite amused to see such leadership, three humans making a team to help with whatever they have to do; Pearl started to wish her team was that harmonious.

"Why thank you! But it isn`t something of much importance." Pearl made a small chuckle but it was interrupted by a teenager, his face was so close to hers that she was starting to feel uncomfortable again.

"What is this? Is it stuck in your forehead?" Ronaldo said in a suspicious tone, he tried to get closer to Pearl`s gem and was rubbing his chin in signal of interest, but was pushed away by the woman.

"Ronaldo! What did I tell you of not invading other`s personal space?!" His father scolded his him. "TIS IS WEIRD STUFF DAD! SHE IS ONE OF THE LADIES THAT SAVED US FROM THE GIANT HAND FROM SPACE!" The teen screamed at his father causing hit to scream back. "I DON`T CARE! YOU SHOULDN´T INVADE OTHER PEOPLE`S PRIVATE SPACE LIKE THAT!"

Pearl´s vision of the team they had disappeared almost immediately, and it got replaced by memories of Amethyst and herself, fighting over nothing. "Okay you two! You better go discuss this somewhere else!" The younger son called Peedee pushed the two angry family members to other room and closed the door.

"Um.. I`m sorry if I-" "Oh don`t worry about it!" Pearl got interrupted by the young boy. "So, what can I help you with?" The gem gasped "That`s right! You know Steven, right?" Peedee nodded and indicated the gem to continue.

"Well… Steven`s birthday is tomorrow and my teammates told me to get him a gift, but the thing is… I don`t know what should I give to him." Pearl hoped that this friend of Steven would help her, since they had the same age and apparently the same type of home…

"Is it Steven`s birthday tomorrow? Wow! Is he throwing a party? He loves Parties.. on my last birthday he brought his game square and we spent the night playing NBA games! It was awesome!"

"No, I`m sorry, but we are not going to throw a party, we are just going to have a dinner." Peedee looked disappointed but accepted what the Pearl just told him. "Well… If I`d give him something… I guess it would be a videogame."

"Oh.. well… If that`s so… Thank you." Pearl knew all of the suggestions where useful, but she didn`t have the money to buy a videogame, and she also didn`t want Steven to waste a lot of time on those "Videogames" not anymore since the event that morning.

"By any chance do you know where I could find more of Steven`s friends?" Peedee thought for a second but didn`t know an answer. "I can`t hang out with Steven like I used to because I have to work, so I don`t know all of his friends, but maybe Onion knows."

Pearl turned nervously to the small boy that was still standing right next to him.

"Um… Do you know?" Onion took another handful of fries and ate them, then he pointed to another of the businesses on the dock.

"The Big Donut…"


	7. On the way

"Are you sure that is the right place?" The little boy nodded and pointed again at the same spot. "Well… okay! Thanks for the help…" Pearl tried to remember the name of the two boys, but with no success. "It`s Peedee" Pearl turned to the blonde boy behind the counter, somehow Peedee knew that Pearl didn`t catch up with their names.

"Right! Peedee, thanks for the help." Pearl extended her hand to shake Peedee`s, and headed to the Big Donut.

As she walked by the boardwalk, Pearl started thinking about the other boy; the experience she went through with him was something terrifying, she felt the same way she felt when Rose was giving birth to Steven.

That feeling, reminded her of that dark time, when the three gems had to take care of the newborn Steven without the guide of their leader; scared, confused, angry, sad, all of those sensations that haunted Pearl on her head, tortured her until she learned how to deal with them.

Pearl sniffed, she started crying without even noticing it, that boy brought back the memories that where sealed years ago and he didn´t know how to feel about it, she wanted to hate him for it but she knew that wasn`t the way Rose would`ve wanted it.

She sat down on one of the benches that faced the ocean; she stared at the waves, heard the sound of them, and smelled the salty aroma that emanated from the beach. She sat there for some time, mourning, until someone touched her shoulder.

"Excuse me Miss." Pearl felt something heavy on her shoulder but when she turned, it was only a hand. She looked at the man standing behind her; he was tall, with brownish skin and a shaved head.

"I couldn´t notice you have been sitting here for quite a while doing nothing but stare at the ocean." Pearl sniffed again and cleared her eyes of the tears that rested on her face.

The man reached his pocket and gave the gem a handkerchief. "Thanks…" Pearl blew her nose and placed her hands on her knees. "May I know what the problem is?" The man sat down right next to the gem and looked right at her.

"You are very kind sir, but I`m afraid the problem cannot be fixed….." She placed her view once again in the ocean.

"I see…. Well, my name is Harold Smiley, but everyone calls me Mr. Smiley." The man said with a big smile and said. "I own the arcade a right here on the pier." The man pointed at the building that was on their right, but seeing that Pearl did not look away from the ocean, Mr. Smiley`s smile disappeared.

"You know….. I used to have a family, back when I moved to this city, a wife and a kid…. And both of them where beautiful, but one day…. I lost them…." Pearl turned to see the man.

"It was on the highway, we went to see my wife`s mother and…." Mr. Smiley struggled to continue, swallowed sadness and went on. "It was raining, and I lost control,"

Pearl placed her hands on her mouth and gave even more attention to the man, she stopped crying, but still felt a knot on the tip of her stomach, she wasn´t able to say anything.

"I was depressed for a couple of years and lost my smile for quite some time, I never left my house, or talked to anybody; Until one day the good people of this town helped me to get back on my feet, and since then every time someone is sad, I try to make him or her, smile once more."

Harold was not crying, but, sometimes, his voice cracked from sadness. He looked at the waves hitting the sand and continued. "One cannot deal with losses alone; he must rely on the ones around him so he can learn how to deal with the feelings that invade our heads."

Pearl could relate to him, after losing Rose, she mourned on the shoulder of her team, Garnet and Amethyst, they had to endure all of Pearl´s attitudes and moods.

Pearl would be lost without her team.

"And every time I feel like I am getting a little bit sad, I talk to my friends in the town…. But I guess I still would be nothing without….. her."

Pearl and Smiley looked together at the ocean.

" _Her?_ " Pearl thought, but as she started making theories she was interrupted by the bald man. "So, I know Steven`s birthday tomorrow!" Pearl gasped in confusion and blushed, maybe one of the people, she told of Steven`s birthday, spilled the beans.

"How did you find out?" The gem asked nervously. "Oh! I know when its everybody`s birthdays!"

Pearl sighted in relief and said "Oh, speaking of which! I must get a present for Steven! Do you have any Idea of what kind of gift I must get?" Smiley thought for a second and suggested. "Well… Every time I give a present to someone, its usually something that I`m sure it will make that person smile!"

Pearl thought of things that made Steven smile widely, but then, she realized Steven enjoyed every single bit of life, from material objects to spending time with her and the other gems.

Even though Mr. Smiley`s suggestion was quite good, she still couldn't figure out the right gift.

Pearl noticed the business called "Big Donut" on the background and remembered she still had a destination.

"Thank you very much! You have helped me quite a lot! But could I ask for the time?" Mr. Smiley laughed and said. "Of course! It`s my pleasure!" The man looked at his watch and stated

"Its 1 o`clock."

Pearl gasped and stood up from the bench "Oh my god! I can`t believe I wasted so much time!" Pearl shook the man´s hand, but just before she started running towards the Big Donut she had to ask.

"Who is _she?_ The woman that helped you with your problem?" Smiley laughed loudly and said "Well, _she_ was the woman everybody knew and loved, and nobody is going to be able to forget her name…."

Pearl raised one of her eyebrows, eager to hear the name of the mysterious woman.

"Rose Quartz…"

Pearl froze, she felt her heart stopping and the knot in her stomach getting even bigger. She didn`t know that Rose spend time with the humans in this town, but that would have to wait, she still had a mission to complete.

Pearl nodded and started running to the big donut, with hopes of this being her last stop.

 **A/N- ugh… I`m exhausted, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really put a lot of emotional effort to it (Don`t ask) and now that it`s done, I think I´m going to take a little break (depending on how much inspiration may come to me on the next weeks) And I`m sorry that this story turned out to be a little bit of a downer, but I`m planning to have a little bit more of comedy on it, so stay tuned!**

 **-LumbarRouge8**


	8. Im sorry

I`m so sorry…. A lot of you may not know me, but I actually used to write fanfics, but There`s been a hiatus of a couple of months because of school, the thing is, I actually wrote the entire series of all my unfinished fanfics.. I just wanted to give you guys the content and entertainment I hope you were waiting for... but my computer died two months ago... and believe it or not I got really depressed because of it and I couldn´t even think of the letdown I would give you guys... this site is one of my main supports in creativity and self esteem... and losing it was one of my greatest fears. I recently got out of my depression and started writing again... but I can`t write about these fanfics anymore... I`m officially cancelling all of my unfinished series until I decide to continue writing about these... and maybe you think that this is an exaggeration and that I shouldn´t be even writing this, but to those people, I beg you.. finishing these stories brought a lot of joy to my heart and I wanted to upload them as soon as possible, but I`m the kind of person that has to constantly make new content or I get depressed again.. and all of my inspiration has come to a new series I hope you will like, so these stories were finished and done with... so unless I remember and write EVERYTHING I wrote... I don`t think they are coming back to life... let's just hope that in the future I can be inspired to write an even better story for the ones I just cancelled, and probably you are reading right now, and I hope you understand...

With a heavy heart -LumbarRouge8


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